MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — County council has agreed to add $90,000 to the re-gravel budget to cover increased fuel costs.
The move came by way of motion at the recent, regularly scheduled council meeting, held in person and on Zoom.
Ryan Morrison, Mountain View County's director of operational services, said increased diesel costs this spring have increased contractor trucking costs.
During a recent meeting with contractors who haul gravel for the county, concerns were expressed with the increase cost of diesel fuel, said Morrison.
The average diesel fuel cost for the 2021 season was $1.06 a litre, while the average cost in May was $1.80 a litre, an increase of $0.74 per litre.
“The fuel prices have jumped up a great deal,” Morrison said. “We understand where they are coming on this. We’ve made adjustments to our own internal budgets when it comes to fuel and now we are coming back to council to ask for an additional $90,000 to add to the re-gravel budget strictly to go to the contractors for the fuel increases.
The increased cost have been calculated based on number things, including data provided on the Natural Resource Canada website.
“The money we are asking for is the actual real money that would go to the contractors for the delivery of the re-gravel program,” he said. “At the end of each month, the county will use this information combined with the number of miles driven to calculate the quantity of fuel used and the amount of surcharge to be paid to each company.”
Reeve Angela Aalbers said the request for the additional funding is reasonable in light of rising fuel costs.
The $90,000 will come from the tax rate stabilization fund.
“That’s what it is there to do, to smooth out the peak and troughs,” said Aalbers.
The county’s total re-gravelling budget in 2022 is $1.687 million.
